>"If you were not worth X the day before you quit, how are you suddenly worth X the day you decide to quit?" This can easily happen when you are actually worth

>"If you were not worth X the day before you quit, how are you suddenly worth X the day you decide to quit?" This can easily happen when you are actually worth X, but the company thinks you are worth X-Y because they have a history of underpaying and perhaps were able to get away with it when the economy was down. If the market is willing to pay X for someone like you, you are worth X regardless of what your current employer thinks you are worth (as long as you act on it).